A few years ago, The Husband gave me a beautifully boxed set of
The Chronicles of Narnia on CD. A HarperCollins publication, it consists of a laminated box with slipcase and seven CD books nestled in their own individual slipcases. Everything, including the CDs themselves, are decorated with colored illustrations from the novels and are just a real pleasure to both look at and to handle. I must admit, though, that until recently I'd only listened to my favorite books in the series and ignored the rest.
However, our long drive to Niagara Falls last month required a significant amount of audio material to comfort and entertain us while we crossed the wilds of New York into fell Canada.
The Chronicles seemed perfect for the trip -- familiar, but not too, and long enough that we go get through one book each way. Also, one of us had forgot to stock up on audiobooks at the library so it's not as if we were spoilt for choice.
Since we came back from Niagara Falls, we've been keeping up with the Narnian adventures of those Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. Currently, we're on the first disc of
The Silver Chair (excellently read by Jeremy Northam) -- Eustace has muffed the first sign, everyone's had a lovely supper, and now we're off to the Parliament of Owls. I can't wait to reacquaint myself with Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle! With his gloomy optimism and dogged courage in the face of certain doom, he remains one of my favorite characters.
The Silver Chair is, as far as I'm concerned, Book 4 of
The Chronicles. I know most Narnia lovers have strong opinions regarding
The Chronicles reading order. Read them in the order they were published or read them in the order of events? I go with publication order, because I think the stories make better sense that way. Also, if read in the order of publication with
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe first, Narnia is slowly built up in my mind with great mystery and marvel. Yes, even though I've read
The Chronicles many many times since childhood.
(I say that, as there is no wrong way to read a book, there is also no wrong order to read them in. Stick yourself in wherever the tale seems most interesting and go on from there. If that means starting with
The Last Battle ... well, why not?)
I was a little worried, when we starting listening to
The Chronicles, that The Husband wouldn't really enjoy them. He'd read
The Magician's Nephew on his own (believing it the first one, poor lamb) and thought it was all right, but expresses a little crankiness toward
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe because, way back in junior school, it was one of those books the teachers read to the students. Unfortunately, no teacher
ever progressed further than the first third of the book and I can certainly see how that would be annoying -- the Pevensies and Turkish Delight over and over again without ever getting to Christmas, or the Stone Table, or the destruction of the White Witch's army. Seems like a torture worthy of the White Witch, really, with her "always winter, but never Christmas."
(This is a bit sad, but whenever The Husband talks about his early education I imagine him at Pole and Scrubb's 'orrible Experiment House).